


By Any Other Name

by Writerleft



Series: Comes Marching Home [72]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Korrasami - Freeform, Korrasami Anniversary, korrasami secret santa 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:47:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21857077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writerleft/pseuds/Writerleft
Summary: Korra and Asami make a welcoming environment for one of their daughter's friends.
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Series: Comes Marching Home [72]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/593860
Comments: 26
Kudos: 132





	By Any Other Name

**Author's Note:**

  * For [YariValtean](https://archiveofourown.org/users/YariValtean/gifts).



“...of course we remember your friend,” Asami said, sensing Mian’s tone. She looked to Korra, who was already stepping out of the kitchen--she recognized Mian’s serious voice as well. “Is everything okay?” 

Mian nodded as Korra joined Asami on the cough. “Yeah,” Mian said, shifting in the nearby chair. “At least… I dunno. H… we talked. And apparently… Spirits, this is hard enough to explain to you two, and it’s not even myself…” Mian muttered, then steeled herself and looked Asami in the eyes. “Apparently she wants to go by Rose now.” 

Korra leaned forward, smiling. “Oh! Well that’s lovely! I’d love to have Rose over again soon, so we can congratulate her.” Korra said Rose’s name and pronouns with a practiced lack of emphasis--she’d put herself through a crash course on transitioning back when her cousin Desna had gone through it, and considered it one of the many causes she was particularly fierce about.

Mian let out a breath. “Do you two even _know_ how awesome you are?” 

Korra chuckled, sitting back with a grin. “To quote Toph, ‘you could stand to mention it more.’” 

Asami, on the other hand, leaned toward their daughter. “Something tells me this is about more than just letting us know. Has Rose been having problems?” 

“H… _She_ hasn’t come out to her family yet, and she’s scared to. Her dad is rural Earth Kingdom, big strong type, wants his wife to act a certain way, treats his sons and daughters different…” 

Asami nodded, lightly pinching her chin as she thought. “I can see why she’s nervous. She _did_ give you the okay to talk to us about it?” 

“I mean… Rose knows I talk to you guys about everything. She even mentioned it, when we were talking, how she envies that about us.” 

“Do you think she’ll be hurt that you told us this?” 

Mian shook her head. “No… I’d never tell anyone else, but she loves coming over to visit, and… she wants to know it won’t be awkward or weird for you.” 

“Of course it’s not!” Korra said. “In fact, you let her know that if she has any trouble with her folks, we’ve got room in our family for one more daughter.” 

“Korra,” Asami said, not sure if it was a question or simply affection. Her wife would adopt every rejected child in the city if she could. “Perhaps we should try to help her birth family accept her, first?” 

“Well, _yeah_ ,” Korra said, conceding the necessity. “But if she’s not out at home yet, and not out at school yet, she doesn’t have anywhere to go where she can be herself, right? To find herself a little?” 

“Where are you going with this, Mom?” Mian asked. 

“If I don’t miss my guess,” Asami said, smiling at her wife, “we won’t be going anywhere.”

* * *

Korra was just putting the vegetables in the pot when the door opened--with two sets of footsteps. “Welcome home, Mian,” Korra called, not turning to face the door and glancing at Zin to make sure he did the same. “Is that Rose with you?” 

“Yeah!” Mian answered. 

“Hi, Miss Korra,” Rose added, almost a murmur. 

“Dinner’s got another half hour yet,” Korra said. “Why don’t you two go hang out in Mian’s room? Asami did some shopping today, happened to find a few deals she thought you might both like.” 

“Sounds good,” Mian said, before rushing off with her friend. 

“Deals?” Zin asked, searing their dinner’s chicken-pork with his own firebending.

“Girl’s thirteen, living off her parents’ yuans. She needs somewhere to explore, so here’s a chance for her to do that, if she wants. So _be nice!_ ” 

“Of course I will!” Zin said. “When am I not nice?” 

“You’re always nice, dear,” Asami said from the living room, rearranging it for an extra dinner guest. “Though you are, at times, rather quiet.” 

“You can’t be mean if you don’t say much of anything,” Zin said. 

“If the other person thinks they are why you’re being quiet, that’s what it can feel like,” Korra explained. Then she nudged him with her elbow. “Just make smalltalk, sass your sister like normal. That’s what this needs to feel like, you know. Normal.” 

“Right,” Zin said. “At least, as normal as this family can manage?” 

“Hey!” Korra said, pretending to be offended. “I’ll have you know we’re very normal! We’re a totally typical and average family.”

Zin chuckled. “If only more families were like us, Rose wouldn’t need the help.” 

Korra tilted her head side to side, considering that as she finished up with dinner. The world was imperfect, and people like Rose--especially young ones--needed to know they were safe and secure and loved, because not everyone in the world would tell them that. 

However… 

She and Asami had worked hard to make the world more able to handle spiritual and political problems without the Avatar’s help. After spending most of her youth embroiled in massive crises, the rate of anything that substantial boiling over had fallen to once every three or four years. They’d helped remake the world already--who was to say they couldn’t help remake it to be kinder to all the little Roses and Desnas and Kyas and Lins and Asamis and Korras, too? 

Even if they had to do it one kid at a time. 

* * *

“I’m not sure about this,” Rose said. 

Mian shook her head. “Rose, we’re teenagers. Even if the makeup isn’t quite right, we’re allowed to fall on our face a little, right? Remember back at the beginning of the year when I had that phase of wearing as many colors as possible?” 

“You looked great.” 

“I looked ridiculous and you know it.”

“But… you were still so confident and stuff.” 

“And that’s why you maybe got tricked into thinking it didn’t look bad. Just… rock your new look. If you act like everything’s normal, people will be cool with it.” 

Rose licked her lips skeptically, then picked the brush back up, leaning into the mirror. “I’m just going to finish the little uh… flags with the eyeliner.” 

“Wings,” Mian chuckled. “And you’re doing great. You’re looking _so_ pretty, Rose, you don’t even know!” 

“I… thank you,” she said, quietly. “But don’t make me cry! Eyeliner!” 

Mian laughed, stepping back so Rose could steady her hand without distraction. 

“Thhhhhhere,” Rose said, setting the brush down like it was liable to explode if handled roughly. She turned her head side to side, looking in the mirror. “Is it okay?”

“It looks great.” 

“You’re just saying that.” 

“I’m just _meaning_ that. You want to do my face, too? That’s how much I trust you, you can do my makeup if you want.” 

Rose sputtered. “No! No, I… I’ll accept I managed competence at least.” 

“Whatever word you need to use,” Mian said. 

Rose stood, pushing the chair aside then backing away to look at herself in the mirror. 

Mian watched her, holding her breath. “How you feeling?” 

“It’s so pretty,” Rose whispered. 

“You can keep it, you know.” 

“I can’t take this home!” 

“Maybe not yet,” Mian shrugged. “I’ll stash it, if you want, but that’s yours.” 

“I don’t…” Rose began, turning quickly to face her. The turn spun the dress out, and as it floated gently downward back towards Rose’s legs, her eyes grew wide. 

“Rose?” 

Rose didn’t answer, but instead spun entirely around in space, allowing the skirt to float out as far as the fabric would allow. Rose laughed, spinning herself the other way, her hands held up against her chest as she danced in circles around the room. 

Mian couldn’t help but giggle--it was like watching a child discover something new and wonderful for the first time. Which, really, was exactly what it was. 

“Dress go spinny,” Rose explained breathlessly. 

“You definitely have to keep it,” Mian said. “Anything that makes you that happy _has_ to be in your life.” 

Rose nodded, beaming.

“Girls!” Korra called from the kitchen. “Dinner!”

Rose looked at the door, trembling. 

Mian took her hand. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

Rose took a deep breath, squeezing her friend’s hand. “Okay. Trial run for the real world, right?”

“It’s like my moms said: one step at a time. And if all else fails, you’ll always have a home with us.” 

“One step at a time,” Rose agreed, tightness in her throat. The rest meant too much for her to repeat, or she _would_ smear her eyeshadow. 

And that was no way to take her first steps. 

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Korrasamiversary, friend! <3


End file.
